This technical meeting was jointly organized by the Animal Production and the Food Quality and Standards Services of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in cooperation with the Department of Food Safety, Zoonoses and Food borne Disease of the World Health Organization (WHO) to obtain the best available scientific advice on issues related to the use of the lactoperoxidase system (LP-s) in raw milk preservation. After reviewing the available scientific information (References, Appendix A and B), the technical meeting concluded that the LP-s is a safe method of preventing milk losses due to microbial spoilage when used according to the Codex guidelines either alone or in combination with other approved procedures. The LP-s is particularly suitable for application in situations where technical, economical and/or practical reasons do not allow the use of cooling facilities for maintaining the quality of raw milk. Use of the LPs does not preclude or replace the need for thepasteurization of raw milk to improve safety for human consumption. Post harvest losses are a major issue in dairying in developing countries. Smallholder dairy farmers could increase their participation in worldwide milk production, processing and marketing if they could reduce their losses using any approved milk preservation method. Refrigeration is the preferred means of milk preservation but does require high capital investment and can incur high running and maintenance costs. The LP-s provides acost effective method to increase the availability of milk that contributes to income generation, household food security and nutrition in developing countries. The LP-s elicits antimicrobial activity against a wide variety of milk spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms including bacteria, HIV-1 virus, moulds, yeasts, mycoplasma and protozoa. Furthermore, the LP-s does not promote the growth of pathogenic microorganisms after completion of the bacteriostatic effect. The activated LP-s is effective in raw milk of different species, the overall activity being primarily bacteriostatic, depending on the initial total bacterial load, species and strains of contaminating bacteria and the temperature of milk. Observations from laboratory and field studies indicate that the LP-s does not induce any significant adverse effects on the chemical, physical or sensory characteristics of raw milk and processed dairy products. Under practical conditions the activated LP-s cannot be used to disguise milk of poor microbiological quality. None of the components of the LP-s presents a significant toxicological risk to public health at the levels proposed. Where iodine deficiency is common, public health measures to rectify the iodine deficiency are needed whether or notthe LP-s is used. In adopting the "Guidelines for the preservation of raw milk by use of the lactoperoxidase system" in 1991, the Codex Alimentarius Commission agreed to emphasise that the LPs should not be used for products intended for international trade. This provision is considered a major obstacle to the adoption of the system, limiting both regional and international trade in LP-s treated milk and dairy products. Based on the available data and an assessment thereof, the technical meeting considered the LP-s to be a safe method of raw milk preservation when implemented according to established Codex guidelines. The meeting concluded that this report provides a scientific basis for Codex to reconsider the provision related to the limitation on the international trade of LP-s treated milk and dairy products.
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